Meta Is Reportedly Developing a Native Instagram App for iPad

After years of neglect, Meta is reportedly developing a native version of Instagram for the iPad — finally moving beyond the awkwardly enlarged iPhone app that tablet users have been stuck with, according to a report by The Information.

For more than a decade, Instagram on iPad has been something of a running joke in tech circles. Despite the app’s visual nature — one that seems tailor-made for a tablet screen — Meta continually sidelined development.

But that may be changing now, partly due to the shifting tides in the social media landscape. The looming uncertainty surrounding TikTok, including a potential US ban, may be prompting Meta to shore up its own platforms wherever possible.

The Information spoke to an anonymous Meta employee who confirmed that Instagram is currently developing an iPad app. Many believe the move is long overdue.

This change of heart marks a notable pivot from Instagram’s previous public stance. Back in February 2022, YouTuber Marques Brownlee called out Instagram head Adam Mosseri for the lack of an iPad version.

“We get this one a lot,” Mosseri admitted. “It’s still just not a big enough group of people to be a priority. Hoping to get to it at some point, but right now we’re very heads down on other things.”

Even in 2023, his stance hadn’t budged. “Not working on it right now,” Mosseri said at the time. “I think it’s a good thing to do at some point. But we have only so many people working at Instagram, so we’ve got to pick the most important things to do to improve Instagram at any given moment. And right now, it’s not quite making the cut.”

While the Instagram web app and Stage Manager support have made using the platform on iPad somewhat more bearable in recent years, a native app that fully embraces the tablet’s screen size and capabilities has remained one of Meta’s more glaring absences.

The iPad app is not the only new tool in development, The Information also reports that the company recently previewed a new video editing tool for its Edits app which appears aimed at challenging TikTok’s popular CapCut software.

Meta has declined to comment on the report.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.